Particle Pollution

The United States Environmental Protection Agency measures five major pollutants,
all of which are regulated via the Clean Air Act:

ground-level ozone
particle pollution (also known as particulate matter, including PM2.5 and PM10)
carbon monoxide
sulfur dioxide
nitrogen dioxide
Of these, particle pollution is the most commonly monitored. The World Health
Organization evaluated the concentration of PM2.5 particles to determine the most
polluted place on Earth. PM2.5 (fine particulate matter 2.5) refers to tiny
particles or droplets in the air that are 2.5 microns (µg) or less in diameter.

PM2.5 is an air pollutant and can be a health concern when present in high
concentrations. Cities such as New York, issue a PM2.5 Health Advisory when
conditions are considered to be unhealthy for sensitive groups. In recent years,
wildfires have triggered an increasing number of PM2.5 warnings in many other
regions as well, including portions of Europe, Australia, Africa, and the western
United States.

The World Health Organization (WHO) target for air pollution is 0-10 µg/m³. IQ Air,
which measures pollution in 109 countries around the globe, considers measurements
above 35.5 to be unhealthy for sensitive groups, levels between 55.5 and 150.4 to
be unhealthy for all, and anything higher is either very unhealthy (150.5-250.4) or
hazardous (250.5 or higher).
Top 10 Countries with the Worst Air Pollution - PM2.5 exposure (µg/m³) - IQ Air
2020
Bangladesh - 77.10
Pakistan - 59.00
India - 51.90
Mongolia - 46.60
Afghanistan - 46.50
Oman - 44.40
Qatar - 44.30
Kyrgyzstan - 43.50
Indonesia - 40.70
Bonsia & Hezegovina - 40.60

While the IQ Air list is respectable, it is not the only available source of air
pollution data. Using data from Seattle, Washington's Institute for Health Metrics
and Evaluation, the Health Effects Institute has released its own list ranking the
levels of air pollution of 196 nations via the State of Global Air report.
Top 10 Countries with the Worst Air Pollution - PM2.5 exposure (µg/m³) - State of
Global Air 2020 (2019 data)
India - 83.2
Nepal - 83.1
Niger - 80.1
Qatar - 76
Nigeria - 70.4
Egypt - 67.9
Mauritania - 66.8
Cameroon - 64.5
Bangladesh - 63.4
Pakistan - 62.6